Grotesques
These ornamental designs, inspired by ancient Roman wall decorations, had an important impact on tapestry design in the 16th and again in the 17th and 18th centuries. Though the designs originated in Italy they quickly spread to other European centres. Artists such as Raphael (1483 – 1520) and Giovanni da Udine (1487 – 1564) adapted the scrolling arabesques into elaborate wall treatments. The designs were quickly absorbed into the designs of tapestry borders and also the tapestries themselves - in Italy and in the Southern Netherlands, most famously the designs by Perino del Vaga (1501 – 1547) for Admiral Andrea Doria of Genoa (1466 – 1560). These were revived, along with other Renaissance designs in the later years of the 17th century - in France, most notably at the Beauvais workshops, where the tobacco ground Grotesques de Berain tapestries were among the most successful series created. At the same time in Oudenaarde, Michel Wauters (d.1679) revived 16th century grotesques designs; the best known set survives at Kronborg Castle, Denmark.
Mars
Price on application
Rare Grotesques Tapestry
Antwerp, 17th Century
8ft 5in width x 9ft 11in height
2.57m x 3.02m
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Minerva
Price on application
From a Set of Doria Grotesques Tapestries
Designed by Perino del Vaga (ca.1501 – 1547)
for Palazzo Doria, at Fassolo
Brussels, Second Quarter 16th Century
13ft 6in width x 11ft 6in height
4.11m x 3.51m -
"Berainesque" Entre-fenêtre Tapestry
Price on application
From the series Grotesques de Berain
After designs by Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (1636 – 1699)
Beauvais, 18th Century
3ft 6in width x 10ft 3in height
1.07m x 3.12m
